For those who want to learn a musical instrument, if the best study period has been missed, what instrument is better to learn in adulthood?
The only answer I can think of: harmonica.
Harmonica, in many musical instruments, is relatively simple. After a certain amount of practice, the simple slow music playing is easy to catch.
Below, we will take you to understand the preliminary harmonica, help beginners understand the distribution of harmonica species, beginners how to choose their favorite harmonica.
First of all, you may want to know which harmonica is better for beginners?
Top 5 Harmonica for Beginners
Harmonica Buying Guide
Type of Harmonica
1. Tremolo
A tremolo harmonica has 16 to 28 holes, 24 of which are the most common.
Tremolo holes are divided into two rows, general blowing, the same spot in the upper and lower two reeds simultaneously sound. Because the two reeds vibrate at slightly different frequencies, simultaneous vibrations produce what is physically called a “Beat,” which is a periodic change in the strength of the sound, known as a “Tremolo.”.
The polyphonic harmonica has the advantages of simple and fixed structure, no need for complicated skills, complete variety, clear and clear tone, large volume, and strong penetration.
The tremolo harmonica is very suitable for some national styles (also can blow out pop music), is a good choice for beginners of harmonica.
2. Bruce
Also known as the ten-hole harmonica, this harmonica is extremely popular in Europe and the United States, is the largest group of harmonica lovers.
The ten-hole harmonica is usually about 10 cm in length. One common feature of the ten-hole harmonica is that there is no F (FA) or a (LA) in the bass and no B (Si) in the treble.
The player can still bend the missing scale using bending techniques.
3. Chromatic harmonica
Chromatic harmonica is mainly divided into ten holes, twelve holes, fourteen holes, and sixteen holes. The 12 holes chromatic harmonica is the most popular.
The chromatic harmonica is a modified version of the traditional harmonica, which uses a smart key to play a rising and falling halftone on a harmonica. If the key is not pressed, it is the white key of the piano, and it’s the Black Key.
The chromatic harmonica has attracted people deeply for its soft and bright timbre and unique, expressive force. Its continuous development has attracted the attention of the music circle. Many composers have created new works for it. For example, the English composer R. v. Williams’romantic harmonica, and J. Moody’s suite and a concerto for harmonica, etc., all excellent works of harmonica music.
What are the benefits of learning the harmonica?
Harmonica is one of the easier instruments that do not require much vocal foundation.
No matter how old you are, it’s easy to get started. If you want to learn a musical instrument to show off skills, add a talent, choose the harmonica.
2. You can play your favorite tunes, harmonica tone color is bright and characteristic, play the popular style, play the national style, play the ancient style, play the second dimension, and a variety of.
How to choose the best beginner harmonica?
1. Look at the style. Look at the preferences.
If you have a vocal background and prefer show technique, choose blues harmonica and chromatic harmonica.
A zero-based, direct polyphonic harmonica (single note without accent) ensures fast hands.
2. Choose the type that’s best for beginners
For beginners, the tremolo harmonica, or 24 hole harmonica, is recommended.
The tremolo harmonica is the most convenient harmonica for newcomers. The timbre of the tremolo harmonica is musical, and its tonal is complete.
How To Play Harmonica For Beginners?
1. Hold the instrument properly
The key point is the left hand to the middle of the body, the other four fingers as close together as possible, the palm curled into a sound room behind the piano.
Right hand to thumb and forefinger twist right piano edge, the other four fingers are as close together as possible, two palms echo each other, and similar to call to the general distance.
The left and right wrist joints should be free to move left and right side to side, but do not allow the arm to carry with them.
We have to pay special attention to is the left palm not immediately wrapped behind the piano. And the four fingers are parallel to the harmonica to leave a passage for the lips to play.
Don’t stiffen your shoulders by letting them hang down. Keep the inner edge of your arms close to your body, so you don’t move around. Whether standing or sitting, keep your upper body straight and don’t slouch. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart to relax your muscles, stay in a relaxed state of readiness.
Another point to note is that we recommend that beginners do not use their hands to move the harmonica when playing the harmonica. They do not use their mouth to move the harmonica.
The correct way to hold the instrument can make people feel very beautiful but also very practical. The process of playing the piano will not be because of the wrong method caused by playing pause.
2. Know and be familiar with the scale position of harmonica
On the left-hand side of the lute is the bass, in the middle is the alto, and on the right is the treble.
How to quickly remember the scale position, music is used in the past is: a piece of paper to write down all the scales, and then paste the harmonica scale corresponding position (stupid direct learning method)
Blowing and sucking are familiar through practice.
3. Practice time
- Monophonic practice
Tip: play the do note first and then the next message. Make sure you clean that note before you move on to the next one. Or the rest of it’s going to get worse.
When practicing single notes, play long notes, not just once, but all in one breath.
When we practice, the single note is the most boring, you must like the harmonica very much, and you can insist on becoming a qualified harmonica lover and owning heart music to play.
Harmonica beginners practice, meet the inspiratory time, may feel gas is not enough, this is not gas, and training is not enough, after a period of training these will be resolved.
- Midrange practice
The baritone exercises are used to train your movement and breathing speed. You learn to live and move by playing the notes over and over again for four bars.
It’s going to be tough for the new guy. Listen to the slow demo a few more times and then play along. Or download a metronome. It’s easier to blow with a metronome.
As long as the single note is played well, playing the harmonica is not difficult. The most important thing is to master the rhythm.
- The practice of the bass and treble
After the midrange, Let’s move on to the basics of bass and treble
The most difficult thing about the bass and treble scales is the irregular position.
The lower part of the reed is very easily affected by the mouth shape change and produces a sound drop. The mouth shape that is too tight and too flat will make the tone color very unpleasant to listen to and even find it very difficult to play, so how you open your mouth (as if you had an egg in it) is the key to producing the right tone.
The treble spring doesn’t have the same problem as the bass, but because the pitch is so high, too much force can make him very sharp and uncomfortable, so luck becomes one of the tricks.
After you have mastered the position of the harmonica scales and the order of blowing and sucking, we can choose some relatively simple tracks for practice.
Are you a harmonica lover, too? What’s the best advice for beginners?
Please let us know in the comments area if you have any good etudes or model recommendations for beginners!
